Rockets. A giant Etch-a-Sketch. A dog house that tweets. The Coke and Mentos guys. These inventions and inventors are just a few of the amazing attractions and Makers visitors will see at Maker Faire Detroit, July 31 – August 1.

This two-day festival will showcase over 260 Makers from all over the nation, who will bring their ingenuity and original thinking to Henry Ford Museum. It’s a display of unbridled creativity and discovery — all at the home of innovation, The Henry Ford.

Only at Henry Ford Museum, both inside and outside this venue, will visitors see the famous Life-Size Mousetrap (just like the game!) share the same space with the Great American Horn Machine, a mechanical device that pumps out notes from ship and train air horns. See the Urban Crawler, a unique bicycle designed to transport food or travel past the booth displaying a dog house that literally sends a twitter message when a dog enters it. Wearable art and fashionable finds will also be on display including unique pieces from the Makers from Wonderful Woolies and Painted Lady Trashions.

Ticket prices include admission to both Maker Faire and Henry Ford Museum. Discounted tickets can be purchased before July 15 at $25 for adults (13-61), $16 for youth (5-12), $23 for seniors (62+) and children 4 and under are free. Two-day passes ticket prices are $44 for adults, $29 for youth, $40.50 for seniors and children 4 and under are free. Members of The Henry Ford receive free admission to Henry Ford Museum and can purchase a two-day pass for $20. For more information, please call 313-982-6001 or visit www.thehenryford.org/makerfaire.

A few examples of other Makers displaying their creations include:

Sashimi Tabernacle Choir — Richard Carter — This award-winning art car from Houston has 250 electromechanical fish and lobsters, 300 pounds of batteries, 2 Linux computers to coordinate all the singers, and more than 5 miles of wire in the control system.
Arduino Powered Skeeball Machine — Matthew Switlik — A skeeball machine from spare lumber, plastic garden edging, PVC pipe, a bit of canvas, a few contact switches and an arduino compatible.
BigDog — Tom Wilson — A wonderfully impractical assemblage of bicycle, go-cart and golf-cart pieces and parts, drainage pipe, steel tubing and patio chairs. This four wheel vehicle allows four passengers to travel at speeds approaching a brisk walk on completely flat ground.
Jumbo ETCH-A-SKETCH — Rick Chownyk — Visitors will be able to draw in scale on an 8 foot by 10 foot Etch-a-Sketch.
Handmade Detroit — Lish Dorset — A loose collective of people who like to make stuff, will be bringing Craft Faire to Maker Faire.
Deus Ex Machina — Michael O’Toole — A large scale swing set with a computer controlled interactive water plane, capable of making shapes and text.
Motion Capture Animation — Matt Arnold — A system of magnetic transmitters to detect the motion and rotation of sensors worn on the body to animate a CGI character in real time and record performances.
Created by the publishers of MAKE Magazine and makezine.com, Maker Faire draws tech and DIY enthusiasts. The event attracts families, school teachers, students, local science, hobby and tech clubs, as well as those who are drawn by a curiosity for the unorthodox and often whimsical MacGyver-like nature of Makers and their projects. Maker Faire Detroit will feature demonstrations and hands-on workshops over the two days. Visitors will enjoy arts and crafts, science and engineering, robotics, sustainable living, music and fine arts, fun for kids and families and more.

About Maker Faire: Maker Faire’s mission is to inspire, inform, connect and entertain thousands of Makers and aspiring Makers of all ages and backgrounds through the public gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkers, hobbyists, science clubs, students, authors and commercial exhibitors. Started in San Mateo, California in 2006, Maker Faire held the 5th annual festival in the Bay Area this past May 22 & 23, in San Mateo, California. As Maker Faire continues to grow in popularity and relevance, Maker Faire will expand to two new cities in 2010, Detroit and New York City. See the Maker Faire website for details www.makerfaire.com. Maker Faire is supported by MAKE Magazine, makezine.com, craftzine.com and O’Reilly Media, the premier information source for leading-edge computer technologies. The company’s books, conferences and web sites bring to light the knowledge of technology innovators.

About The Henry Ford: The Henry Ford, in Dearborn, Michigan, is the world’s premier history destination and a National Historic Landmark that celebrates American history and innovation. Its mission is to provide unique educational experiences based on authentic objects, stories and lives from America’s traditions of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation. Its purpose is to inspire people to learn from these traditions to help shape a better future. Five distinct attractions at The Henry Ford captivate more than 1.6 million visitors annually: Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, The Ford Rouge Factory Tour, The Benson Ford Research Center and The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre. The Henry Ford is also home to Henry Ford Academy, a public charter high school which educates 485 students a year on the institution’s campus and was founded in partnership with The Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company and Wayne County Public Schools. For more information please visit our website www.thehenryford.org

Privacy and Cookies

This website uses cookies to store information. We use third party advertisements to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site. You can choose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in Internet Security programs, however, it can affect your ability to interact with our site as well as other websites. More information on Privacy and Cookies

Your Museum News

Send us your Museum News using the SUBMIT NEWS link above. Please read MuseumPublicity.com Site Terms before submission. No site registration is required. Museum Publicity check all articles submitted before publication.